Automatic locking mechanism for the drawers of desks



(No Model.)

A. CUTLER.

AUTOMATIC LOCKING MECHANISM FOR THE DRAWERS 0T DESKS, 6:0, No. 257,475. Patented May 9,1882.

. WITNESSES I INVENTOR W OM11? Ga a/ 4 ,0(/

ATTORNEY www UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABNER CUTLER, ()F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC LOCKING MECHANISM FOR THE DRAWERS 0F DESKS, dc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,4?5, dated May 9, 1882.

Application filed November 1, 1881.

.enable others skilled in the art to which it an pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

In an application filed by me September 24, 1880, for improvements in business-desks, for which Letters Patent No. 242,436 were granted June 7th,1881, an automatic locking mechanism for the drawers of the desk, 8m, was shown and described, but afterward eliminated from the said application as constituting a separate and distinct invention, from the subject-matter for which Letters Patent were finally granted. Such automatic locking mechanism, with improvements thereon which'l have since made, forms the subject-matter of my present application.

The automatic locking mechanism consists essentially of a bar adapted to slide between the sides of a set of drawers and the contiguous side of the desk, and provided with a projecting pin thereon for each drawer, which pin is adapted to be engaged or disengaged with notches in the sides of the drawers to lock or unlock them, as desired. The sides of the drawers are beveled at their inner ends. The sliding bar, with its projecting pins, is raised to unlock the set of drawers by a pivoted lever operated upon by the sliding cover of the desk in the act of opening the same, and is returned to its locking position by a spring which rests against one of the projectin g pins on the sliding bar. This locking mechanism is so arranged that when the drawers are in their place they can he simultaneously locked in the act of closing the desk, or if the desk be closed and one or all of the drawers remain open they can be locked in the act of pushing in the same.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a desk, showing my automatic lockin g mechanism applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical (No model.)

section taken in line a; .r of. Fig. 1. Fig.3is an enlarged view of the automatic locking mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, a is the body of the desk. I) is the inner portion, and b the outer portion, of that part of theftop of the desk which is fixed. Between these parts b and b is the space b into which the sliding portion 0 passes when the desk is opened.

(I are the drawers which occupy the space in one side of the desk. The side walls of these drawers are beveled at their inner ends, as shown at d, and each drawer is provided with the notch or recess (1 c is a sliding bar, which is seated in a vertical groove, 0, cut in the side wall of the desk. This sliding bar 0 is held at its lower end in the groove 0 by the keeper 0?, and at its upper end by the lever and spring, to be more fully hereinafter described. Upon the sliding bar is located the projecting pins 0 which are adapted to be engaged or disengaged with the notches d in the drawers (1 in looking and unlocking the same. An additional pin, 0, upon the bar 0 is provided for engagement with the lever and spring in raising and lowering the bar a.

f is the lever, which is pivoted to the side wall of the desk just behind the sliding bar 6. Its forward end rests under and in contact with the upper pin, 0, of the sliding bar 0, and its rear end is provided with the shoulderf, which projects slightly into the lower end of the space I) between the walls b and b. This lever also has the additional shoulder, f which, when the lever is depressed at its rear end, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, strikes against the shoulder g in the rear wall of the desk, there by limitingits downward movement. Aspring, it, rests against the spring 0 and serves to re turn the sliding bar 0 to its normal locking position when the pressure of the sliding coverc of leverf, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and the forward end of the lever, resting under the pin 0, raises the sliding bar a, and with it the pins 0 until these pins are clear of the notches d when the drawers may be drawn out. By simply reversing this operation the drawers are again automatically locked. It the desk be closed and any or all of the drawers happen to remain open, they can belocked automatically, as they are pushed in, for the pins 6 will ride up the beveled sides (1 of the drawers until they reach the notches d into which they will drop by the action of spring h. It will thus be seen that the drawers are automatically locked or unlocked when in closed position by simply opening or closing the desk, and if any of the drawers remain open after the desk is closed a simple push is sufficient to securely lock them.

I claim- 1. An automatic locking mechanism for desks, consisting of a sliding bar located between the side ofthedrawer and the contiguous side of the desk, and provided with inwardlyprojecting pins, drawers having their sides inclined on their inner ends and having notches therein for the reception of the pins upon the sliding bar, a pivoted lever for raising the sliding bar, and the sliding cover of the desk for operating said lever, substantially as shown and described.

2. An automatic locking mechanism for the drawers of desks, consisting of the sliding bar 0, provided with pins 0 6 a the leverf, spring h, the notches (1 and inclines d in the drawers (1, and the sliding cover 0, all combined and operatingsnbstantiallyasshownanddescribed.

ABNER CUTLER.

Witnesses:

BYRON H. WEs'rco'r'r, W. T. MILLER. 

